CAT Exam Previous Year Papers (2015 - 2025): Download CAT PYQ PDF

Candidates planning to appear for the upcoming CAT exam must include CAT exam previous year question papers and mock test . Find CAT exam previous year papers with answer key below.

Download CAT Exam Previous Year Question Paper PDF

CAT Exam Previous Year Paper: Candidates planning to appear for the upcoming Common Admission Test (CAT) for MBA admissions can use CAT previous year question papers. This article provides slot wise PDF files for CAT PYQs with answer key. Candidates practise thousands of different types of CAT questions, yet may not find a similar one on the exam day. CAT exam may repeat question structure, RC themes, DILR themes, etc. Those who would have practised CAT previous year papers will find the overall exam on the easier side.

CAT is among the toughest exams in the world. Some of the primary reasons for CAT exam difficulty is its high competition, dynamic syllabus, and percentile-driven scoring. Over 3 lakh candidates register for the CAT exam annually for admission to the limited seats across 22 IIMs in India.

CAT Exam Previous Year Paper PDF

Practising CAT previous year question papers help candidates know their strengths and weaknesses well in advance. Candidates must use last 5 year CAT question paper PDF free download, along with CAT 2025 paper, along with CAT 2024 question papers, CAT 2023 question papers, and more during their prep phase. Download CAT PYQ PDFs from 2015 to 2025 below:

CAT Paper Pattern Evolution Since 2014

Check the table below to know how the CAT exam pattern has evolved over the years. Also, check the change in the CAT total marks and number of questions

NOTE: TITA questions were introduced in the IIMCAT paper pattern change in 2015.

Also Check: How to use CAT On-Screen Calculator?

Full Length CAT Practise Papers with Solutions

Apart from the previous year papers, candidates can use the full length CAT practice papers with solutions PDF below during the CAT exam preparation. 

CAT Previous Year Paper Highlights

Find the breakdown of difficulty level across CAT previous year question papers:

• CAT 2025:Moderate All three slots of CAT 2025 paper had a moderate difficulty level. Most test takers found VARC as the highest-scoring section. Whereas DILR was considered tougher than expected, and QA was challenging but doable by most test takers.
• CAT 2024:Easiest Candidates found CAT 2024 question paper to be the easiest in recent years. All three slots of CAT 2024 question paper were easier in last five years.
• CAT 2023:Toughest Most candidates who solved the CAT 2023 question paper regarded it as the toughest exam paper. VARC in the CAT 2023 question paper was tough in Slots 2 and 3. Additionally, Quant was also rated as the toughest section compared to past few years. DILR sets of CAT 2023 were also termed as the lengthiest seen in the last five years.
• CAT 2022:Moderate A moderate year. The overall difficulty remained highly stable, though DILR remained a persistent sticking point and caused variations between slots.
• CAT 2021:Mod-Difficult The overall difficulty level of CAT 2021 exam was Moderate to Difficult. The exam had a reduced total of 66 questions with a time limit of 120 minutes.
• CAT 2020:Mod-Difficult Candidates who appeared for CAT 2020 exam found it to be moderately to highly difficult. The CAT 2020 paper saw a major change with the reduced exam duration from three hours to two hours and total number of questions in CAT from 100 to 76.
• CAT 2019:Mod-Difficult The overall difficulty level of CAT 2019 paper was moderate to difficult. CAT Quant and DILR questions were easy to moderate, whereas VARC was considered difficult and tricky.
• CAT 2018:Moderate Candidates who solved CAT 2018 question paper found VARC and DILR to be on the easier side, with Quant being tricky and time-consuming.
• CAT 2017:Easy-Mod Candidates found the CAT 2017 exam to be easy to moderate. Several candidates reported that the CAT 2017 question paper was on similar structural lines to the CAT 2016.
• CAT 2016:Mod-Difficult The overall difficulty level of CAT question paper was moderate to difficult. Candidates found the CAT 2016 exam to be time-consuming.

Also Read:

• Changes in CAT Exam Pattern Over the Years
• Best Books for CAT Preparation

How to Use CAT Exam Paper to Improve Scores?

To improve CAT exam scores using previous year papers, candidates must grow from just practice and focus on analysing each past paper. Knowing how to approach CAT question papers by toppers is important. Some of the useful tips to improve scores using CAT exam previous year papers include:

• Spend more time on CAT past paper analysis
• Practice simulating exam stress
• Derive an attempt strategy

Solving and Analysing CAT PYQ

Solving and analysing previous year CAT exam papers is among the most effective strategies to score in the 99+ percentile in the national-level exam. Although candidates may not find repeated questions in CAT exam, there might be a repetition of structural logic, RC themes, arithmetic frameworks, etc. Besides knowing about the questions, candidates will get a better understanding of CAT syllabus. For targeted section practice, candidates can also practice with dedicated CAT quantitative aptitude questions with solutions, practice sheets for CAT verbal ability questions and answers, and modules for CAT data interpretation questions with solutions.

Candidates who solve and analyse CAT previous year question paper tend to obtain a good score. Solving more CAT questions for practice across sections can further help candidates identify recurring patterns and improve accuracy.

Which IIM will Conduct CAT 2026 Exam?

IIM Indore is expected to conduct CAT 2026 exam on November 29. Candidates must use the CAT practice papers and PYQs with solutions above to prepare for the upcoming CAT exam. Candidates should align their prep with the CAT 2026 syllabus. Following the trends, IIM Indore is known to keep the difficulty on the higher side in Quants. Candidates can expect CAT 2026 by IIM Indore to have an overall difficulty of moderate to tough.